FIrst+Caluri+1



**Amendment** **1 **

By Jessica Costa, Justine Lisozics, & Rebecca Hernandez

media type="custom" key="409765" (you can play this while you read to the info)

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. //In

Our Own Words:// For people to practice any religion, people can exercise with the right of speech and press, people can peacefully assemble and petition the government.

//How do the issues which prompted the creation of the amendments compare with the issues that they are applied to today?// The reason the first generation of americans made this amendment was for the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition that they didn't have in England and the other countries they came from. They fought for their freedom from England to get the rights that were fair. In Irac in 2000 they were fighting for freedom away from Saddam Hussein who wasn't giving them any freedom at all. So today we are they have their freedom from Saddam Hussein (was hung on Dec. 30, 2006) and we are trying ot help organize their country.

“No country values free expression more highly than does the United States, and no case in American history stands as a greater landmark on the road to protection for freedom of the press than the trial of a German immigrant printer named John Peter Zenger. On August 5, 1735, twelve New York jurors, inspired by the eloquence of the best lawyer of the period, Andrew Hamilton, ignored the instructions of the Governor's hand-picked judges and returned a verdict of "Not Guilty" on the charge of publishing "seditious libels." The Zenger trial is a remarkable story of a divided Colony, the beginnings of a free press, and the stubborn independence of American jurors.” - Doug Linder Wrote [|]

Why was it created? What problem was it supposed to solve? The first amendment was created because people wanted to speak freely so their opinion should be heard. The 1st amendment was also created because of freedom of religion. The first amendment bans the government from favoring one religion over another, it also bans government from interference with a persons right to practice thiner religion or belief. The first amendment was basically created because people wanted a guarantee of their basic freedoms.

Madison made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing, with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. James was referred to as the "Father of the Constitution". He wrote Amnedment 1 in th late 1700's.


 * With in 2 years after the constitution was in place more amendments were added. States felt that the constitution didn't protect people's individual freeedoms. The colonies growing dissatisfaction with the British government was revealed in an early ase concerning freedom of the press
 * When the U.S. Constitution was signed on Sept. 17, 1787, it did not contain the essential freedoms now outlined in the Bill of Rights, because many of the Framers viewed their inclusion as unnecessary. However, after vigorous debate, the Bill of Rights was adopted. The [[image:christian_spec0285_NVTech_com.gif align="left" caption="Religion"]]first freedoms guaranteed in this historic document were articulated in the 45 words written by James Madison that we have come to know as the First Amendment.
 * Speech, Freedom Of - liberty to speak and otherwise express oneself and one's opinions. Like freedom of the press, which pertains to the publication of speech, freedom of speech itself has been absolute in no time or place. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars the federal government from "abridging the freedom of speech"; since the 1920s the amendment's protections have been extended against state, as well as against federal, action.
 * The 1st Amendment gives us freedoms they didn't have in England
 * Locke's ideas help spur the American Revolutionary war (1775-1783) in which the 13 colonies fought for independence from british power. Though they broke away, they took the idea of the Bill of rights. The first 10 amendments were in the bill of rights.

Current Event: Summery: The First Amendment to the constitution is a foundation in the U.S. It gives our citizens freedoms of speech, press, religion and assembly. But some high school students feel that flag burning is not a form pf freedom of speech and that government editing of newspapers may not be so bad. More than a third of the students felt the amendment goes too far in guaranteeing rights. But it seems that many of the students surveyed did not understand all that the first amendment stands for. They said flag burning was illegal (which it is not) and said that the government can restrict any unsuitable material on the internet, which it can’t. They also said they take the first amendment for granted.

Hodding Carter III, president of the John S and James L. Knight Foundation who sponsored the study. He found the results disturbing and feels that “ignorance about the basics of this free society is a danger to our nation’s future.” Other people interviewed feel that schools need to make a priority and take a more passionate role in teaching students about the first amendment and give them the chance to practice it. They feel that students who take part in activities such as newspaper are more likely to support expression of unpopular views. Although administrators feel the importance in taking part in these types of activities would help, many areas don’t have the money to offer these things

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